UN, Sweden celebrate Year of Egyptian Women

CAIRO - 12 March 2017: UN women-related development agencies and Swedish Ambassador to Egypt Charlotta Sparre celebrated the Year of Egyptian Women in Upper Egypt’s Luxor city on the occasion of International Women’s Day,

Youm7 reported

Thursday.

Ambassador Sparre and representatives of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) visited Luxor city to monitor progress made by UN agencies in Upper Egypt, according to a joint statement issued by the three agencies Thursday.

The delegation visited the Luxor branch of the National Council for Women (NCW), praising development projects carried out by the NCW. The delegation also paid a visit the Luxor Family Court where women and men receive free legal assistance, according to the statement.

“I am excited to celebrate International Women's Day this year among Egyptian women, who are the cornerstone of the development process in Egypt. We work for women every day and in all our programs to support national partners to accelerate progress towards gender equality and the empowerment of women in Egypt,” the statement said, quoting UNDP Country Director Randa Aboul-Hosn.

“The 2017 theme for International Women’s Day – ‘Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030’ - calls on us to do the right and the smart thing, and to construct a world which does not teach women and girls to be less, have less, and dream smaller than men and boys,” UN Women’s Country Director - Jorg Schimmel said.

He added that research shows Egypt’s economy could grow by up to 34 percent by 2025 if women and girls are given the same employment opportunities as men and boys.

“In our efforts to assist the Government of Egypt in addressing the challenges of population growth, UNFPA is fully committed to ensuring universal access to voluntary family planning. That means putting the poorest, most marginalized and excluded women and girls at the forefront of our efforts,” said UNFPA Egypt’s representative, Aleksandar Bodiroza.